Sadist who waterboarded girl and made her run on a treadmill for hours to be sentenced

A “sadist" convicted of child cruelty after 'waterboarding' a young girl and making her run barefoot for hours on a treadmill is due to be sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court today (September 5). Garth Gatland, 39, of Austin Drive, Cambridge, also subjected a boy to prolonged abuse and was found guilty of two counts of child cruelty by a jury on May 25. The court heard how Gatland abused the girl and the teenage boy over a period of two years between 2014 and 2016. The abuse of the girl - who Gatland believed was "evil" and had "ruined his life" - included hitting her repeatedly with implements including a wooden spoon and making her run for up to four-and-a-half hours barefoot on a treadmill. The girl was also "hog-tied to the bed" using tights and subjected to 'waterboarding' - in which water is poured over a cloth covering the face to simulate drowning. The boy was the victim of regular assaults and made to dispose of and hide drugs for Gatland.